The Pampa Lady Harvesters (8-8) went 5-3 at a tournament at Lubbock-Cooper last week against schools from all over the region. The Lady Harvesters fell to Lubbock-Cooper twice (12-25, 16-26) (15-25, 20-25) and El Paso-Chapin (17-25, 16-25). But they picked up wins against Levelland (25-22, 25-9), New Home (25-14, 25-12), Palo Duro (25-13, 25-16), Ropes (25-18, 25-15) and Childress (25-17, 25-17).
The Lady Harvesters earned consolation in the Gold Bracket.
“We had a lot of girls make huge strides this weekend,” Head Coach Kaylee Samulowitz said. “Our offense and defense out of the middle was fantastic and will only continue to get better. We focused last week on serve receive and our numbers there improved drastically, so we saw a lot of positive over the weekend.”
Samulowitz said the Lady Harvesters are still working to fine-tune their line-up in these remaining non-district matches.
“[We are going to continue to work] a little more on diversifying our offense,” Samulowitz said. “[We are] just all getting on the same page as we get ready to go into district.”
Senior Haili Newton had seven aces and 48 kills, along with five block assists and 54 digs; which earned her a nod to the All-Tournament team.
“Haili is just one of those players that any coach would be lucky to have on their team,” Samulowitz said. “She is steady and such a hard worker. You know what you’re going to get from her each time she steps on the floor, which allows her to be a great leader for our team. I was very excited to see her recognized for that work she has put in.”
Senior Naya Gallegos had two aces and 18 digs to go with an assist.
“Naya is such a fun athlete,” Samulowitz said. “She understands the game really well and makes some great plays in middle back for us. She is lively and brings a lot of energy as well, so it has been really enjoyable getting to coach her so far.”
The Lady Harvesters returned home Tuesday when they hosted San Jacinto Christian Academy.
“I hope that tomorrow night we can just play loose and continue to improve our overall game,” Samulowitz said. “Hopefully we can see some strides in different areas we are going to focus on in practice today. I just want the girls to enjoy themselves and put on a show for the fans.”
Stat Round-Up
Senior Haili Newton had 54 digs, seven aces and 48 kills; Sophomore Addi Bagwell had seven aces, 21 kills, 51 digs, five assists, five total blocks (two solo); Junior Brooklyn Warren had 18 kills, one assist and eight digs; Senior Naya Gallegos had two aces, one assist and 18 digs; Junior Madi Barton had 12 aces, seven kills, four blocks, 45 digs and 129 assists; Senior Olivia Owens had eight aces, 31 kills, five blocking assists, one assist and nine digs; Junior Myla Zarate had eight assists and 54 digs; Junior Karsyn Brown had six aces, 29 kills, 10 total blocks (two solo) and six digs; Junior Kinley Duke had six kills, three block assists and one dig; Senior Yaritza Saenz had one ace, one kill, four assists and 19 digs; Senior Elli Peet had four kills, one solo block and two digs.
